The family of

John McIntosh, the Piper
& Catherine Ryan

On 7th November, 1870 at Stirling, after Banns according to the Church of Scotland
John McIntosh (Piper 93rd Regiment-Batchelor) aged 25, of Stirling Castle: son of William MacIntosh (Pensioner of the 93rd Regiment of Foot) and Alexanderina McIntosh m/s McLeod
marriage to
Catherine Ryan (Domestic Servant-Spinster) aged 19, of No 22 St Mary Wynd, Stirling: daughter of James Ryan (Agricultural labourer) & Jane Ryan m/s McGuire (deceased).
Clergyman: Wm Findlay, Witnesses: John McLean. Helen Kerr.

John the Piper

John joined the 93rd Regiment in 1863 as an 18 year old. In June 1874 he transferred to the 79th Highlanders and in April 1875 he was invalided out of the Regiment from Aldershot in England. His record says he was going to Edinburgh.
Further research shows John's army record.
Muster sheets for the regiment have John as being a labourer from Urquhart, Inverness. This is contrary to the 1871 census which had him being born in Skye - a mystery still to sort out. Several searches have failed to find a record of John's birth in or about 1845 although he was not necessarily born in Scotland.
All the John McIntoshs that I've found recorded as being born in Scotland about that time are shown here. John was not at home with his family for either of the 1881 or 1891 census. A search of all John McIntoshs in the Highlands for the 1881 census revealed the possibilities on this page.
When Mary died in 1896, the certificate implies that her father was alive, but when Andrew was married in 1902, and James died, their father was deceased (see links to Andrew and James below).

The death registers for Scotland have not shown a record of John's death.

A search was carried out to establish if John McIntosh was killed in the Boer War.
The initial search concentrated on a published source, that is, ‘In Memoriam, Roll of Honour Imperial Forces, Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902’. This source contains a list of all those wounded and killed during the war. The only potentially significant entry was that for a J. McIntosh of the Scots Guards. This serviceman was killed in May 1901.
The entry was followed up in WO 100/165, the Queen’s South Africa Medal Roll for the Scots Guards. This search revealed that the J. McIntosh that had appeared in the published source was in fact James McIntosh.
In the absence of any other men by the name of J. McIntosh on the wounded/killed list it seems reasonable to conclude that John McIntosh did not die in the Boer War.

Catherine (Ryan) McIntosh

I should know a lot about Catherine because she came out to NZ and lived in the small Mid-Canterbury town of Methven (click here and refer to map links at bottom of page) where my father grew up. However, I did not follow the family history well enough until after my father died.
By the early 1900s Catherine was living in Hunters Quay in a place called Holly Lodge. As she had kept lodging houses in Stirling, Holly Lodge could have been another lodging house. In 1909, she moved to Glasgow, where her sons John William and Andrew were living. The move was to set up a business, perhaps at her address at 293 South Wellington Street. The business failed and that must have been the stimulus to leave her family in Scotland and emigrate to NZ to join her sons already there.
Catherine operated a maternity hospital in Methven, NZ.

On 14 April 1936, at McMillan Street, Methven, New Zealand.
Catherine McIntosh (Widow) died aged 84, daughter of James Ryan (Brewer deceased) and Julia Ryan m/s McCormick (deceased). Born Stirling, Scotland (lived 27 years in NZ). Married Scotland at age 19 to John McIntosh.
Buried: Ashburton,NZ.

Children of John and Catherine 

1871 Census  12 Broad Street, Stirling, 3 April 1871

* some doubt about this

1881 Census  23 Baker Street, Stirling, 4 April 1881

* John was not at home. Catherine named incorrectly. Boys grandsons of James Ryan not sons. House had one room with one or more windows.

Baker Street, Stirling
Remembrance of Happy Days.

1891 Census  10 Barnton Street, Stirling, 5 April 1891

1901 Census  28 Buccleuch Street, Glasgow

Duncan actually born England and Norman born in Edinburgh.

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John McIntosh
New Zealand
Email: jrdksmci@xtra.co.nz